One Solution for Calin

Calin Popescu Tariceanu could remain the head of the Executive until the before-term elections. The leaders of the Alliance are looking for the constitutional way to cover his interim.

Yesterday, the Liberals told their coalition partners their wish of keeping Tariceanu as the temporary Prime Minister, according to some sources inside NCC (the National Council for Coordination), but they are yet to find the constitutional way to do that. The sources say there are a lot of solutions possible, even the one in which the Prime Minister will file in his mandate, while another minister quits, then the Prime Minister will take over his responsibilities and he will be named as Prime Minister from the position of the owner of that portfolio.

Tariceanu also talked yesterday, after the meeting of the Executive Committee for the European Integration, about his role in following period. He said he would continue attending the meetings of the Executive Committee for the European Integration, even if he would be "only a political leader". "I, in my actual position, as well as in the future position, let’s say the one of a political leader, will focus on these matters and will be able to still attend the meetings of the Executive Committee for the European Integration. We’ll try to do these things in such a manner that we will set the necessary rhythm for the things to go on as planned", Tariceanu stated. He also emphasized that the future Executive, even a temporary one, will have a "sufficient margin for taking decisions". They will also be able to name or dismiss anyone who doesn’t fulfill their responsibilities from the calendar of the adherence.

RESIGNATION. The Cabinet’s resignation will also take place on another date. The NCC members met yesterday to discuss the dates of the before-term elections, and they planned the resignation for the evening of the 18th of July, when Tariceanu is supposed to return from Brussels. There, he will meet a series of officials from the European Commission, like the commissar for the Extension, Ollie Rehn, the commissar for the Competition, Neelie Kroes, and the one for the Justice, Franco Frattini.

However, until then, the Executive will have other two meetings in which they are to approve a series of regulations, which are necessary for the adherence, or for the before-term elections. The electoral law is also to be modified. Daniela Popa, deputy of the Conservatory Party, stated yesterday that the modifications regard the decreasing of the electoral campaign from one month to two weeks, the compulsoriness of the elector cards, the increase in the number of the voting sections for the Romanians abroad, some strict rules regarding the audio-video electoral campaign. The Conservatory Party asked for some time to analyze the situation of decreasing the period for the electoral campaign, showing that an electoral campaign of 15 days might affect the rights of the electorate. The DUHR (Democratic Union of the Hungarians in Romania) representatives asked NCC for the lowering of the electoral threshold from 5% to 4% yesterday, but they are still to take a decision for this matter.

CHANGE OF MIND. The representatives of the NLP - DP (National Lliberal Party - Democratic Party) Alliance changed their minds about not taking part in the vote of the judicial commissions regarding the terms in the law project for the Justice and the Property that were declared unconstitutional. They said this would be a behavior of a party in the Opposition. Sources inside the coalition say that, during Monday’s meeting, Monica Macovei, the Minister of Justice, asked for the modification of the Law for the Constitutional Court’s functioning, but she was denied because it was against the Constitution.

CALENDAR. The Coalition’s Monday meeting also agreed on the Government’s resignation taking place on Monday, the 18th of July, after the Prime Minister would be back from his meeting in Brussels.

On Tuesday, the 19th of July, the President is to talk with the Parliamentary parties for naming a temporary Prime Minister, which should be one of the members of the present Government. According to the 106th article of the Romanian Constitution, in case the Prime Minister quits, "the Romanian President will name another member of the Government as temporary Prime Minister, until the formation of a new Government. The temporary PM, during the impossibility of exercising the responsibilities, stops if the Prime Minister retakes his position in the Government". The representatives of the parties who met at the NCC have also decided that the before-term elections should take place on the 16th of October.